Friday, 21 October 2016

7 things to do in Amazing Albany!

Is Albany on your bucket list? It should be. Even Charles Darwin couldn't resist a brief visit, although by all accounts he wasn't impressed. I put that down to Albany being one of his last stops aboard the Beagle's almost five year journey. He also came by ship across the notoriously rough Great Australian Bight. Like Darwin I suffer from perpetual seasickness. Note to self: Never come to Western Australia by boat.

By the time he arrived in Albany in Australia's far south-western corner Darwin was home sick and fed up - not a great way to get the most out of any destination. If he were to arrive today - on one of the new 787 Dreamliners, Business Class of course, and know he could be home again in 18 hours he wouldn't want to leave.

History

The Albany region is the traditional home of the Mineng Noongar aboriginal people. 'Noongar' is the name which identifies the indigenous people of the south-west of Western Australia and 'Mineng' is the language group to which those who lived around Albany belonged.

European settlement of Western Australia began at what is now Albany on Christmas Day in 1826 when the Brig Amity arrived. On board were 23 convicts, 21 soldiers, a surgeon, a storekeeper and six months worth of stores. Early relations between the first Europeans and the Mineng Noongar were reasonably cordial. Today Albany is a thriving port and tourist destination with a population of almost 34,000.

A replica of the Brig Amity - it is open from 9.30 a.m to 4 pm daily and is abolutely free.

Whale Watching

The whale-watching season in Western Australia is one of the longest in the world, running from June to October. Humpbacks, southern rights and blue whales all pass Albany on their annual migrations and King George Sound is a favourite spot for them to take a few days' rest. On our first visit to Albany, in September 1998, David and I arrived to discover two of these magnificent creatures had taken up temporary residence in the bay. There was no need for a whale watching tour - we were able to see them easily just standing on the beach.

We returned to Albany in September this year (2016) with great hopes of repeating this magical encounter. This time we had booked a whale watching tour just to be sure. Sadly, the weather was awful, the tour was cancelled and the whales failed to appear. Oh well - there is always next visit!

We didn't see turtles either - but I thought the sign was cute!

My tip: -

If there are whales around, head down to the whale watching lookout on the Ellen Cove Boardwalk at Middleton Beach. You might get lucky and see them swim past only a few metres below you.

Kangaroos and emus

Western Australia has to be one of the best parts of the country to see kangaroos and emus, to say nothing of the little known quokka. We didn't have to leave Albany to see mobs of kangaroos. They were literally lying about in people's front yards and we saw more than one large mob of emus on our drive to Albany from Margaret River.

Emu's are hard to photograph - they tend to run away, but these guys were part of several large flocks we saw.

You don't often see kangaroos sitting in people's front gardens but we did in Albany. Notice how they are looking straight at us - I love the way they do that.

My tip: -

Take Frenchman Bay Road south and then east toward Vancouver Peninsula and you are likely to see kangaroos laying around in the front yards of the larger blocks of land. Kangaroos are most active in the early mornings and around dusk but we saw them in the middle of the day.

Albany has a special place in the story of the ANZACs. It was the site from which the first convoys of ANZACs set sail on their way to Gallipoli. Later it became the site where Australia's first dawn service was held. Today perched high above the Great Southern Ocean, the ANZACs are remembered and honoured at the National ANZAC Centre. For my review of our visit to the centre click - here.

For a close up encounter with the power of the Great Southern Ocean, take a trip out to Torndirrup National Park. A viewing platform allows visitors to stand directly above the ocean as it surges through a natural gap in the granite foreshore. After you have seen The Gap follow the path and signs for about 800 metres to the Natural Bridge and The Blowholes.

The new viewing platform at the Gap.

Looking down from the viewing platform. This photo doesn't do its 'wow' factor justice. You have to imagine the waves rushing in and exploding upwards like a geyser erupting immediately below you.

My tips:

If you can, go when it is windy and the sea is rough, to experience the full potency of the waves.

There is a $12 fee per vehicle to visit Torndirrup National Park, however if you intend to visit other national parks in Western Australia it is worth paying $44 for a four week all parks holiday pass. Click here for information on entry passes.

Western Australia has 12,000 species of wildflowers, over 60 percent of which are found nowhere else on the planet. Come to Albany in spring and you can't miss seeing them. For my review of the wildflower festival in Kings Park, Perth click - here.

We didn't have to go looking for wildflowers, we kept seeing them by the side of the road.

Walking and Cycling

For a leisurely cycle, start at Lawley Park, Brunswick Rd and follow the shared path to Emu Point. The path runs along the cliff tops with a few up and down climbs for about 5 km until it reaches Middleton Beach. From Middleton Beach, it is another 4 km to Emu Point. This section is almost completely flat. Keep an eye out for whales as you ride along!

If you are a serious cyclist, why not cycle all the way to Albany from Perth along the 1,000 km Munda Biddi Trail. David and I intended to cycle a few short sections of the trail but the weather defeated us and we never got past the planning stage.

I put this photo in my last post on Albany but it was such a great section of the cycle path I couldn't resist including it again.

The south-west corner of Western Australia is home to some of the tallest trees in the world. This is karri tree country - giants of the plant world which can grow up to 90 metres high. At the Valley of the Giants, a little over an hour west of Albany, the Tree Top Walk lets you explore the forest canopy up close or marvel at their grandeur from below on one of the many forest trails. Click here for admission prices and opening times for the Tree Top Walk.

In the forests around Pemberton, two and a half hours west of Albany, you will find Pemberton's Climbing Trees. It is a bit far for a day trip but an easy diversion if you are driving to Albany from Perth or Margaret River. The climbing trees were once fire lookouts with metal climbing spikes leading to lookout platforms. Several are open for visitors to climb. It is not for the faint hearted though. David, who has no head for heights, wouldn't even consider it and I got a few feet up the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree just for the fun of it before turning back.

The Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree.

Me pretending to climb the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree.

Would you climb this tree?

My tip: - Don't - unless you are young, foolish and have a really good head for heights! If you have all three of those then go for. David and I saw two people climb the tree while we were there and it didn't look that hard - from the safety of the ground!

I publish a new post every Thursday or Friday, depending on your time zone. If you would like to follow our travels, check back each week or enter your email address in the 'Never miss a post: Follow by email' box in the right hand sidebar just below my profile picture.Click on the titles below for other posts from our road trip in Western Australia: -

Plenty of fun things to do in Albany. I would be pretending the climb those trees too, Lyn. I wouldn't dare to go all the way up, but I'm sure it's a lot of fun to see the world from up there. Too bad this place is so far from California. Thank you for joining us for #TheWeeklyPostcard blog link up.

So many great things to see and do in Albany, you have chosen 7 of the best. We've had a great season for wildflowers this year and loved seeing all your photos from your trip here across your social media. Albany has always been one of my favourite places and last time went there on a cruise which was something a little different from always driving there.

Whenever I think of Albany, I always think of the city in New York. I was pretty delighted when I realized I'd be reading about Australia. Albany sounds wonderful. I've always wanted to go wale watching. I don't like really high heights but I think I would be able to climb that tree a little ways but not all the way up to the top. #weekendwanderlust

Ok, so I am assuming Darwin didn't have the opportunity to see a quarter of all these. There are so many things I like about this place. I will like to walk close to the ocean and see some of those kangaroos. I am no that excited about emus. I saw them once in a farm and they do not look very friendly. #wkendtravelinspiration

Emus are fantastic when you see them in big flocks by the side of the road. i have never been close enough to one to know if they are friendly or not. The funny thing about Darwin is that I have read he went looking for kangaroos when he was near Sydney but had trouble finding one. It's hard to believe because they are just everywhere in the bush at dawn and dusk.

I have done whale watching in Sydney and it was a fantastic experience. When I was young you just didn't get whales but since they have been protected they are returning to both the east and west coast of Australia in significant numbers.

Ahh, you've captured the beauty, serenity and excitement of the area so well! I climbed The Gloucester Tree in Pemberton once, but that was the only one of the three look-out trees I've climbed. My husband shins up one each time we go down south, but once was enough for me! Thanks so much for adding a link to my post about Albany too. Really appreciate that :)

Great post on a little known area of Australia. I'm intrigued though: you say 'early relations' between the European settlers and indigenous population was cordial. Any news on later? I take it, if anything like the American Indians, not good? 😒

When the brig Amity arrived one of the first things the Captain did was rescue groups of Aboriginal women from islands off the coast. They had been stranded there as slaves by sealers who frequented the area. The rescue got European and native relations off to a good start.

Sadly however, Australia had its fair share of conflict between new arrivals and aborigines. Disease, either smallpox or chickenpox, also took a terrible toll of local populations.

I got about as far up that tree as you did! It's super scary and I can't believe the people who do climb it. You certainly made your way around to a lot our wonderful destinations. Have you been to penguin island? Sorry about the weather, but we so desperately needed the rain.

We didn't get to penguin island but we are returning to Perth next year so maybe I will look into it. David and I travel a lot and over the years we have learnt to take the weather in our stride. We still had a great time.

Every time I googled Albany to check something I got the one in New York. David and I have driven through it but I don't think we have ever stopped to look around. It makes me think that on our next trip to the U.S we should go there.